KUALA LUMPUR, May 26 — Umno is mulling taking back some former leaders and members who were removed during a party-wide "cleansing” after the 15th general election of 2023, according to Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias.

The Umno supreme council member said former members who remained loyal to the Malay nationalist party and its struggle will be given a second chance, news portal New Straits Times reported today.

"In Negeri Sembilan, the state Umno secretary and divisional secretaries have been instructed to vet and consider applications only from those who still demonstrate loyalty to and alignment with the party’s struggles.

"The cleansing process previously carried out by the party aimed to remove those who were no longer interested in Umno and believed the party would become weak,” Jalaluddin was quoted as saying after launching the Amar Penghulu Umno branch meeting at the Dewan Budaya Kampung Amar Penghulu in Jelebu last night.

The Negeri Sembilan Umno chief who is also Jelebu MP said some who had been sacked from the party now wish to rejoin after seeing its current state.

But he also defended the cleansing process, saying it had not undermined Umno’s resilience and stability, as branches across the state successfully conducted their meetings as planned.

Jalaluddin held up the Jelebu Umno division as an example, saying new branches have been set up in a party membership drive.

"Umno has gone through various trials and challenges and faced many problems. The uniqueness of the party is that when faced with problems, it adopted methods to overcome them,” he was quoted as saying.

Jalaluddin said that proposals to enhance the party’s development and governance have been the most frequently suggested by Umno branches, which have already convened their meetings.

He said the Negeri Sembilan Umno leadership will convene a meeting to assess these proposals and determine the next steps once all Umno branches have concluded their meetings.

Since early last year, Umno has revoked the membership of several prominent party leaders such as former Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, former Tanjong Karang MP Tan Sri Noh Omar, and Isham Jalil.

Umo has also temporarily suspended several leaders, including Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and former Umno information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan.